Tiger Prince

Prince Ausengo II, also known as the Tiger Prince, was the final Prince and Archprelate of ancient Jucundia, presiding over its defeat and dissolution at the hands of Tristia in what came to called the 3rd Jucund War. The length of his reign is dated variously - although all ancient sources agree it began in 285 SD (759 JD)- as the last few years of his government are not accepted as legitimate by many modern historians.

Familial Origins

Prince Ausengo II was born in Laetitia, capital city of Jucundia (then a principality on southern coast of the Alban Sea), in 256 SD (730 JD). His paternal lineage (from father, Prince Marenli IV) can be traced - with some controversy - to Jocus, the quasi-mythical founding prince of Jucundia. On his maternal side (via mother Archonia), he could claim legitimate descent from numerous prior holders of the Archprelature.

Ascension to Throne and Early Reign

Ausengo II succeeded Marenli IV in 285 SD (759 JD), upon the latter's death on expedition in Ouestranae. Ausengo immediately curtailed the expedition and replaced High Commander Pulan Cepho with Machas Protos.

In the early years of his reign, traditionally referred to by subsequent generations as "The Golden Hexad," Ausengo focused primarily on internal matters, wherein he pursued a deferential policy generally favorable to the Setuqes and the merchant classes, specifically the long-delayed completion of the Great Jucundian Road. The resultant prosperity - welcome as it was after the treasury-draining Ouestranaenian campaigns - restored the finances of the principality, which in turn promoted Laetitia's return to prominence as a trading center, a position not enjoyed since the 2nd Jucund War.

The Crisis of Yibal and Ausengo's Reaction

Yet the prosperity of this six-year period was not without harmful consequences. The merchant classes, bolstered by financial success, were able to obtain a great deal of influence in the Setuqes. In their attempt to find cheaper labor than the free-born Jucundian Anrav class, they eyed Yibal, an underdeveloped tribal kingdom to Jucundia's east, as a possible source of slave labor. The motives for greater involvement in Yibal presented by the merchant-faction in the Setuqes were varied: Yibal's state of relative anarchy meant the only effective way to reduce tribal raids on Jucundian commerce caravans was direct control of the kingdom; Yibal's backwardness and weakness was an invitation to Tristine influence; and a faction of Yibalites themselves wanted to experience the benefits of civilization as offered by Jucundia. The Setuqes accordingly recommended Ausengo send an expeditionary force to Yibal under Protos. Ausengo, still following his general policy of deference, obliged. Protos's force was defeated handily by Yibali irregulars at The Battle of Crooked Ditches and forced to retreat.

Ausengo immediately shelved the plan for influence in Yibal and took a firmer hand in directing state policy. The merchant class, discredited in his eyes, saw its influence in the Setuqes sharply curtailed; furthermore, Ausengo reduced the position of Vizhtan to irrelevancy and directed the Setuqes through his own Privy Council.

The Influence of Leonas

Having alienated the merchant classes and the more legally traditionalist of the Setuqes, Ausengo was faced with the possibility of ruling without the support of the nobility. Into this void stepped Leonas, Archprelate of Iucundia. As a member of the Privy Council, he convinced Ausengo to restore the traditional religious observance of the principality and win favor with the Anrav class. He worked on Ausengo's naturally superstitious nature to encourage further concessions to the Archprelature, which had the twin effect of further weakening the Setuqes and alienating the merchant class from the government.

The Tiger Prince

Upon Leonas's assassination by a member of the Hguram class in 302 SD (776 JD), Ausengo opted to name himself to the position of Archprelate, unifying the position of prince and archprelate for only the second time in nearly eight centuries. Alleging he was following Leonas's last wishes to "fight for the Gods as a tiger," Ausengo also adopted the moniker of "The Tiger Prince," (which modern historians have often employed for ease of identification) and had official coinage minted to that effect. From this point on, it useful to refer to Ausengo as a classical tyrant. The Setuqes was all but disbanded and official policies were directed by Ausengo through the agency of the Archprelature.

The Hexad of Steel

As Jucundia's general policy had been increasingly inward-looking since the Battle of Crooked Ditches, Tristine influence in Yibal had become paramount. The Yibalis had been shaped into a client-state of Tristia and the Yibali irregulars had been reorganized after the fashion of the Tristine Maniple. At Tristine instigation, the Yibalis goaded Protos into making a first strike into their territory. Thus began the Hexad of Steel, a six-year period of disaster for Jucundia. Protos's army was defeated (again) and Protos himself killed at the Second Battle of Crooked Ditches in 312 SD (786 JD). The survivors of the slaughter were rallied by Biffos Studi Texil (often shortened by moderns into Biff Stud Tex), who by virtue of being the highest ranking officer to escape earned the rank of High Commander. Although Texil won notable defensive victories against the Yibali forces, the entry of Tristia into the war in 315 SD (789 JD) (marked by many as the official start of the 3rd Jucund War) doomed Jucundia. The capture and razing of Laetitia in 318 SD (792 JD) were accomplished with little formal resistance.

Escape or Death?

As Ausengo's body was never found following the seige of Laetitia, numerous rumors and folk traditions began to assert themselves almost at once. The most popular was that Ausengo had in fact died at the outset of the war, and the government had been in Texil's hands for the final six disastrous years. However, historians largely discredit this view on this basis that it seeks to lay the blame of the Hexad of Steel at the feet of Texil, and for that reason was likely concocted by the Ausenganian faction in the Tristine province of Jucundia Prime. A less popular but related rumor held that Ausengo, although allowing Texil free rein in the main direction of the war, lived through the war's duration and led sporadic resistance to Tristine rule until his eventual death some years later.

On the other hand, a contrary rumor (whose origins likely trace to the Texilian faction in Jucundia Prime) held that Ausengo lived until the end of the war, at which time his entire extended family died at the hand of Tristine soldiers. This tradition blames Ausengo with crippling Texil's war effort with his contradictory demands and superstitious restrictions on which types of warfare could be employed on which days.

Ancient historians customarily listed all rumors and left the reader to judge the credibility of each; modern historians tend to the opinion that neither Ausengo nor Texil had complete control of the government or the direction of the military at this late stage, preferring to view the principality of Jucundia as scene of anarchy from 315 onward. Thus there is great difficulty in setting a terminus ante quem for Ausengo's rule as "Tiger Prince," save for the official imposition of Tristine rule on the new province of Jucundia Prime in 319 SD.

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